I'm Alive, I Promise!

Hola familia!!!!!!!!!! How are you all???? I´m so so sorry that it´s taken me so long to write you all! Things have been crazy over here!!!!! How are you all??? How was your week? How were all the birthday celebrations??? I hope everyone had so much fun :) I realized that it´s Cocoa´s birthday today, so if you could all give her a giant hug and slobbery kiss I would love that :) I hope you are all doing well and very happy! :)

So this week was wild!!!!!! I am now in . . . drumroll . . . Catarroja!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It´s the south of Spain, right outside of Valencia!!!!!! Valencia is the city most south in the mission, and it´s HUGE, and I think it's every missionary´s dream to go there. It has a completely different culture, and it´s incredible. Everyone wants to come here because the people are so amazing and the culture is so fun. I am so excited!!!!!!! Catarroja is so cute! So we are right outside of Valencia--like 20 minutes away. There are four missionaries here and we have a giant ward!!!!!! I am so excited! The members seem amazing. And my companion is Hermana Shake! Oh my goodness, she is the cutest thing ever. I think she is literally the most chill person I have ever met. We are already best friends, for reals. :) She just finished her training, so I am senior companion for the first time! So that will be a good adventure :) She is already such an incredible missionary, and I am so excited to work with her. She is from Virginia, like an hour north of DC. She is the best!

This city is SO cute. It´s exactly like Newport Beach, except the ocean is like 20 minutes away rather than right there. (I'm glad it´s not in our area, cause I would probably get trunky for Balboa haha!) But it's so pretty! It´s the cutest little place with palm trees, and all the houses are different colors with patterned tiles--it´s just like how you imagine the south of Spain. I am already in love with it. And it's HOT. I´m kind of sad, actually, cause I didn't realize 'til I got here that I love the cold! So I had to drag out my summer clothes again, but it´s okay :) I´m so excited to be here.

Leaving Zaragoza was one of the hardest things I have ever done. It was so hard. I can't even tell you how much the people there mean to me. It was so interesting, because when I left Badalona, I was so sad because the people had taken care of me cause I was new, and they had just taken me in. But here, when I left people kept thanking me for what I had done for their families and it wasn't just a love but a respect. It was so interesting. The people in Zaragoza are so wonderful and loving, but you have to earn it. And the feeling that I had earned their love was incredible. It´s weird, because one of the biggest feelings I felt as I left was accomplishment, which really surprised me. I thought I would leave just feeling completely heartbroken, and I was, but I felt really accomplished. I felt like I did what I needed to do there, and I don't have any regrets. I can say that I gave seriously everything I have to Zaragoza--my blood, sweat, and tears. Zaragoza has completely changed me. I feel like there I learned so, so much about who I am and who the Lord wants me to be. I did so much refining there that I feel like I shed a skin when I left--I left so much behind me there and I was really refined into more of who the Lord wants me to be. It was one challenge after the other, but I was showered with blessings and miracles. The ground of Zaragoza will always be sacred to me, because I became closer to my Savior there than I think anywhere else in my life.

Leaving the people was so hard. President Gomez and Resu are so, so wonderful, but they don't cry often, and they aren't very sentimental always. But all three of us were a huge mess crying when I left. It surprised me so much! The whole ward council cried when I left, and I was so surprised. I didn't realize I had made that much of a difference. Saying bye to Tatiana´s family was one of the hardest things I've ever done. My last time with them I went through the steps we had set together when I got there in May of how they were going to go to the temple. We went through and they all just said how much they have changed since then and the kids said how they never thought they could be members, and now here they are--completely active, sharing the gospel with their friends, doing baptisms--it´s incredible. They are the biggest miracle of my life. I seriously felt sick the whole week before just thinking of saying bye to them. If it wasn't for the fact that we are coming back in April, I probably would've died haha. They were so sweet--they gave me a beautiful skirt and scarves and all these notes that totally made me cry. People were so sweet--everyone just kept showering me with gifts and hugs and kisses and letters and photos. I felt so spoiled. We all just cried and cried together, and it was the sweetest thing of my life. Even when we said bye to the Familia Amigó, they were sad I was leaving, and they said they were so grateful for how I had taken care of their family-- he said that I have done more for him than I even know. That meant the world to me. It was so sweet--while we were going around saying bye to everyone my last day, people were calling each other trying to figure out which house I was in to come give me gifts! I couldn't believe it. I definitely don´t deserve that love, but I am so grateful for it. These people are so wonderful. They are everything in the world to me, and they will always have a huge, huge part of my heart.

It was so hard saying goodbye, and I feel like I left a huge part of my heart there, but at the same time, I feel ready for a change. I feel like there I learned who I was and kind of what I am doing, and now I´m just ready to put it into action and go for it. I'm so excited to just give it everything I have and just go for it. It´s really weird knowing that this is probably my last area, and it makes me just want to give it everything I have and just go for it. So that´s what I am going to do :) 

I love this work, and I am so grateful for the chance to be a missionary. I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. 

Sorry this is so sentimental and mushy haha. I've just gone through lots of emotions, and I guess this is how I'm letting them out haha. But know that I love you all more than you know and I am so, so grateful for your love and prayers. Have a wonderful week!!!!!!!!!

Love, Hermana Boyer :)

P.S. This is my new address :)

Avenida la Rambleta Nº59, esc. 2, Pta. 31
Catarroja, Valencia 46470
Spain

This is the familia Amigó! :)

This is the Wolfart Family--probably the most faithful family I have ever met.

This is Raquel´s family and their giant horse of a dog haha. I love them so much!